Distributor for trickling filters



Sept. 23, 195 2 TL KNOWLES 2,611,646

I DISTRIBUTOR FOR TRICKLING FILTERS Filed Nov. 20, 1947 '5 Sheets-Sheet 1 r v I INVENTORZ F IHG. 2 JOHN H. KNOWLES;

ATTORNEY lFiled Nov. 20, 1947 p 1952 J. H. KNOWLES 2,611,646

DISTRIBUTOR FOR TRICKLING FILTERS 3 Sheqts-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

- JOHN H. KNOWLES, BY

ATTORNEY Sept; 23, 1952 .1. H. KNOWLES ,646 I DISTRIBUTOR FOR TRICKLING FILTERS Filed Nov. 20, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 22 O I A 5' INVENTOR:

' JOHN H. KNOWLES WWW ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1952 2,611,646 DISTRiEU TORQFOR TRIGKLINGgFILTERS sohn n r rt nnowles, Ijarchm-ont, 4N. as: signor tolhe Dorr Company} stamfoi' difion'nz,

I o;-corporations-Delaware .ehmslieetloniiqovemer 2o,1917;;seriel nof'zsues The present invention. relates to liquidfiifstiibuting devices" for spraying liqliid-fsiiolr as sewage on to filter beds or the like. MoreT, particularly, the invention relates 'toliqi1i'd .di'tribiitofsof the type comprising 'afdistribiitina"structurefro- "the purpose mentionedalb'ove'i'are wlliknown,

and by way oi -example 211d filllistratiqhfifi'is noted that one form or soon affdistribiitorlis illustrated and describedin?P'atent"i2215j181, granted September 11119405611 "an,a'iiplieation Such distributors as heretofore constructedlfave customarily included "vertically l'dis'po'sed liollow center. piers or columns 01n"the;u'p"per,end of which a stationary bearing memberis mounted for cooperation -With.va. be'a'itin'g. me'mberincluded in' the rotary structure'ftofforin fafthrils't' bearing through whichrthefwei ght o'f'jtheirotatmgetruoture is sustained, aiidithi'bli'ghfWhichi'anyjtefidency to lateral displacement ofthelrot'atingstill'cture isreduced. n i

The. general "object crime Tpresenti'ii'lvention' is to provide improved meansffor;suppofting lthe'- the center post relatiireeto' the'cen'ter meme required to insure that-L'thei axis or 'rotationubfthe rotating structurelis coincident withfor' insuitably close proximity :to thefaiiislofthe centeijpost.

ticularity.inithefclaimsg nnfBXlId-io a part of this specification; For a (ole-299 69) ,jrieference should .be haditmthe ra'ooompeeym .fdrawin gs 'a'nddescriptive matter in whichI'-haVe illustrated 'and'desc'ribedaypreferredembodiinent "oi the invention.

"Ofthedrawings: V p

Fig. l isia fpla n'vi'ew of afiltr-aindrissdiitd fliquidfdistributor; p I

rp rzis an elevation in'sectionomtheiinei z i'orFig: v1; 7 p I H I "Fig; 13 ."is an" elevation; a" larger s ol'aie than Fig. 1', illustrating "a structuralrdetailoi the liquid distributor; in 1 r V V TFigifl is" a; "sectional elevation on eneniereed scale or a portion of the. apparatus s'hown-in Fig; 5"? is: .a horizontal sectionpnth'e lfn'e' S S bfFie-i Fig; '6' is" 'a" Vertical section "F 1 v 'Figk'lis a; sectiontakenfsilnilarly-tofiiig. "Band -illustrating" a modified center post construction; 'Fig:j8 "is avertical "section" on an; enlargedsca'le l "of a: slightlymodified portion of fthefapparatus "shown irrFigr ijand p v fEig: 9"is a section on'theline 9"'+9 ofjFig i l. The embodiment of the "invention showneby way of example arldiiia somewhat-diagrammatic manner irri' figs. 1 and 2, co'rnprisesi: a filter-bed lfln .th'e" form of an annuluspsurrounding he 30 v unpei fportion of ave'rticallgi *disposedcenter p er "g2; 'and comprising" broken stonefor' lilefi=lterima- 'teriarheldin aconcrete oontainer3 fopema its uppererid. I Associated With'thefilterb'e liquidfdistri'butor"comprising a pl raiit or orizonta'l ly" disposed ,spra'y pipes or hollow arms- 4 each having discharge :orificles '4 at one; :side. As shown, there are iour-arms "4. Eachernris connected at'its' inner end to 'aphambered ce nter member: 'or. element 5. The latter rigidly-ton-- ne'cte d to the l lower end of a :c'entr'a'l tubular shaft" 8 includeddn the "rotating structure' comprising' the arms-4 an'dycenter element 5. 'As shownfitheisha ft 8'--has its-lo\iver-end-at- 'ta'ched :to the center 'element fi -,p lneens-eomayprising web; orbracket pl'ates Tspaced' aboutand extending ra'dially away from the 'tubu'lai' ele- 'ment- 8. i The plates T'h'ave'thei'r vertical 'ges brazed or welded to the element 8;ar1d=liaretheir horizontal- 'lower 'e'dges brazed or Wldd-tothe 50 generally horizontallipper-sideoftheipart 5.

f The: rotating 's tructure is supported by; arid-ro- 'tat'es about the'upper portion 'of a vertically-disposed now-rotating center 1 post i0, ---having-i-ts lower end suitably anchored; "'The'fi 'po staten- 35- prises" a tubular body" of metal which m'a'y or I in'g.

may not have a strengthening and stifiening core of concrete II, as shown in Fig. 7. As shown,

- the lower portion of the post I is axially dister pier is formed of concrete and has an integral bottom portion forming the lower end wall of the well I2. The center post 8 is rigidly anchored in a body 13 of cement or the like put in place in the lower portion of the well, or at least allowed to harden therein only after the vertically disposed post It is put into position.

The rotating structure is supported the center. post H), with freedom to rotate about the latter by connecting means including a thrust bearing at the upper end of the post. In the simple and effective form shown in Fig. 6, the connecting structure between the upper end of the post iii and the tubular shaft member 8 comprises a metal cap member is above and extending across the upper end of the post iii, and having an underside recess i i forming a seat for the upper end of the tubular body portion of the post 16. The cap I4 is formed at its upper side with a globular portion which enters and engages theconcave underside of a superposed metal body 15. The latter is formed with a recess at its upper side to receive a ball bearing structure shown as comprising balls I 6 mounted in the-ball way formed by the inner and outer ball rings I! and I8 shaped to cooperate with the balls to form a thrust bearing and a guide'bear- Thejouter ring l8 has its lower end in engagement with and supported by the member l5, and the inner ring has its upper end in engagement with a shoulder at the underside of a member 18. The latter forms a cap portion of thetubular element 8. The inner surfaces of the'two rings I! are shaped to act in cooperation with the balls as a weight supporting thrust bearing. The member I8, as shown, is removably secured to the upper end of the tubularelement 8 by bolts l9 having lower body portions welded against the inner walls of the member 3, and having threaded upper end portions extending through a horizontal portion of the member l8 and secured to the latter by nuts 29.

The hollow arms or spray pipes 4 are connected at their inner ends to the center part 5, and are supported at points adjacent their outer ends, and may be supported also at one or more points intermediate their ends, by stay rods 2! having their lower ends connected to the arms at said points, and having their upper ends connected to the upper end of the tubular element 8 as by means of bracket parts 2 2 welded to said element and formed with apertures in which the upper ends of the stay rods are secured. Advantageously, and as shown, each stay rod includes a turn buckle 23.

p The liquid discharged through the spray orifices ofthe arms 4 is supplied through'a supply pipe. 24 which opens into the lower end of the center pier I2. The liquid thus supplied to the lower end of the annular well space flows upward through that space, into center part i through a bottom opening in the latter, and

thence into the open inner ends of the arms 4, When the pressure at which liquid passes through the pipe 24 into the valve i2 is excessive, some of the liquid entering the well may pass upward through the annular space between the center post H) and the hollow shaft portion 8 of the housing to overflow or outlet spouts 25 secured to the elementii adjacent theupper end of the latter, andeach open at one end tothe annular space between the shaft 8 and post Hi.

As shown, the member 5 is formed with a bottom opening coaxial with and larger in diameter'than the Well ID. Said opening is surrounded by a short cylindrical portion of the member 5 which terminates at its lower end in an outturned horizontal flange 5 to which a rotating sealing member 26 is secured. The sealing member 26 comprises a horizontal out-turned flange at its upper end which is clamped against the underside of the flange 5', as by means of clamping bolts Zl. The sealing member 25 also comprises two dependingjouter andinner'cylindrical skirts 28 and 29 which'are integrally connected at their upper ends and are spaced apart to provide an intermediate annular space open at its lowerjend. The rotating sealing member 25 cooperates with a stationary sealing member 39 mounted on the upper end of the hollow central pier Z. The member 39 comprises an outer cylindrical body larger in diameter than, and surrounding the outer skirt portion 28 of the rotating sealing member 26. The body or outer wall of the stationary sealing member 30 is integrally connected at its lower end to the lower end of an uprising cylindrical wall or inverted skirt portion 31 of the member 38. The body of the memcc-r 39 and its skirt portion 31 are spaced apart to provide an annular channel open at its upper ber.

end, and looselyreceiving the outer cylindrical skirt or Wall 28 of the rotating sealing member 25. The inner wall 3! of the lower sealing meme'r' extends into and is loosely received in the annular space between the outer and inner skirt portions 28 and 29 of the rotating sealing mem- A sealing liquid, ordinarily mercury, held in the annular space between the outer and inner wallsof the stationary sealing member 38, prevents the lighter liquid passed into the wall I2 by the pipe 24 from leaking through the joint space betweenthe top of the Wall 12 and the underside of the center part 5.

To permit oflateral adjustment of the upper portion of thecenter'post It, the latter is connected intermediate its ends to positioning elements 35. 'As shown in Figs. 4 and 9, there are three elementsl35 extending radially away from the post i0 and spaced apart about the axis of the post Hi. As shown, each positioning device 35 is, in eifect, a stay bolt of adjustable length which has its inner end secured to the post In and its outer end secured to the center pier 2. As shown in Figs. 4 and 9, the inner end of each stay bolt 35 is bent to hook overa bolt 36 which connects the adjacent ends 36 of arc'shaped sections of'a ring 37 surrounding and fittingtightly about the center post I0 at alevel somewhat below the upper end ofthe concrete center pier 2. In Fig. 8, thejring 31 and bolts35'are replaced by bail like parts am having their legs secured to the center post H1. Each device 35 extends radially outward through a' horizontal radial opening 38 formed in the hollow pier 2,

and has a nut 39 on its threaded outer end which bears against the outer side of a washer-like member 40', which seats'agains't the outer wall sagas To preventianyi tendency, izdue to 'windlaction ;orother cause; fortthe rotating :structure to -:tilt out-o'f the: inormalipositionliniwhichitheraxes 2 of the center post I 0 Land :tube :element :18 rare'zin their-desired :coaxial :relation, roller #:or :other bearing may 'be tsuitablyxinterposed.:between :the 'rotating and :stationaryzstnuctures. *Ihusxinzthe form of apparatus shown,*:bearing-:b1ocks-4l :are secured to the rotating structure in the position to bear againstz the outer icylindrical surface of the upper portion of the stationary lower seal member 30. *As-'shown,ea'ch "-bearing block 4| is secured to. a bracket or coupling partfl beneath and bolted to the outturned horizontal'flange portion of wtheirotatinglsealing. member 26, and a guide part 'in'each bearing block' II is adjustably secured to the supporting part 42 :withzits inner edge Lin contact with :thersurfacezmember 30. As shown,.each. bracket :JL-supports-aaxscrew whichmaybeturned .to.adjust the corresponding block 4 lirelativeto the brackets.

"With 1 prior .7 arrangements sin which a ihollow central post hasservedboth assaisupportvfor the :vrotating distributor .;element, rand as :ag'supply conduit :for the liquid i to she :distributed, it 7 has been 1 found that the; center r-rpost could not 1 :be -made' sufliciently istron'g nor trigidiwvithoutiunduly iincreasingiits bulk and ii -inherent construction cost. A liollowcenter. postzserving as.:a:liquid supply conduit mustibeiormerl with ports adjacent the distributionlevel-ior-i-therpassage of the liquid into the distributing arms or piping. Such ports'reduce the rigidity' of' 'the center post,- and "make the structural 'design impractical when large volumes of flow are to -be handled. With the liquid in-fiow passage surrounding the center post, as disclosed herein, the flow capacity of the apparatus may be made as large, and the stationary supporting structure may be made as rigid as conditions make desirable. The liquid passing into the center pier wall I2 through the pipe 24 may be supplied under suitable pressure from an elevated reservoir or by suitable pumping means, as has been customary heretofore, and the usual provisions may be made for disposal of the liquid passing through the filter. Since the means for supplying liquid under pressure and for disposing of the liquid passed through the filter form no part of the present invention and may follow the usual practices of the prior art, they need not be illustrated or further referred to herein.

The general operation of the liquid distributor disclosed, does not difier essentially from that of previously known apparatus of the same general type, such as that disclosed in the above mentioned prior Patent 2,215,181. A desirable characteristic of apparatus of the type disclosed is its capacity for being rotated by the reactive forces due to the liquid jets discharged through the orifices 4', when the liquid in the spray pipes is under a moderate and readily maintained pressure head. To insure steady rotation and efficient liquid distribution, it is a practically essential condition that the rotating structure should be free to rotate about an axis passing through the center of gravity of the rotating structure. That condition is readily obtainable with the construction disclosed, since the differientzadiustingirelemen 51:35 mayebesrelativelyeadijusted as urequiried eto so aterallytzpositionr-the cthr ustrbearing-iat the .rlton-i of the centenpost that rlihei vertical time including 1 e-vcentercon-grav-ity of. itherrotatin Structure, iwillijibeacoincidentiwith thegaxisi of the-cylindrical surface of the member -30 ilightly engaged ,by the: bearing blocks [41 owing-,ito the spherical formof-ithe contacting surfaces :;of the "memb rs; l' leand 4-5 whicnsup- :port the thrust bear-ing, tr alatter substantially self-aligning, since athe nember -l5*-may am'ove relatively to,the member l 4 =asrequired to m'a'intain the; 566111361 of 1 rn i1?X*: Qf the -rotating structures-in; the,- axis -of rotationrofi that gstrucwhat larger than the external diameter -ofthe uupperehdof-ith'e post l 0 as1shown.:in:-Fig.-7. The

member 5 I4 [is then able smove horizontally relative "to the post HI --to reduce -any-isignificant ;preferred yarrangement -ishown, -:the center =-0f gravity of therotating;structureissataa levelvsub- 7- stantially below: the thrush-bearing carried at the top :of-theqoenter :column N]. --Such-re1ative loca-- tien f the center :of -gravity and the thrust bearing rcontributes j to Ystabl e operation and a desirably small :tendency ofa-the rotating structure to sway. or oscillateras aresult of wind pres 3 sure and other causes.

'Whijlerin accordance withthemrovision of the statutes,:I have illustrated and described the best former embodiment ofnmyinvention'now. known "to me, it will be apparent -torthoseskilled in the -;art that-changes may be made .in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit ofv my invention, as'set forth in the appended claims, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a liquid distributor for filter beds and the like, the combination of a stationary supporting structure comprising a hollow central pier and a center post having its lower end anchored in said structure and having an upper portion above said hollow pier and having a lower portion centrally disposed in said hollow pier and separated from the inner wall of the pier by a vertically elongated annular liquid space above the anchored lower end of said central post. means engaging said post at a level intermediate the ends of the annular liquid space in said hollow pier and connecting said post to said pier and longitudinally adjustable relative to the pier to move the upper end of said post horizontally relative to the anchored lower end of the post, a rotative structure comprising liquid distribution pipes with inlets adjacent said post and with discharge outlets at different distances from said post, and also comprising a central liquid chamber above the annular liquid space within said pierand with an opening at its lower end through which said post extends and through which liquid passes from said annular space into said chamber and thence into said pipe inlets, an uprising annular sealing member mounted on said pier and a cooperating 4 ativegdisposition ofathe aparts-is, --.-facilitated by making -thefliameter of-therecess "seat in :"the underside' of :-the;: member M someannular sealing member supported by said rotative structure and depending from a portion thereof surrounding the open lower end of said liquid chamber, and means for passing liquid into the annular space in said pier at a pressure high enough to move the liquid into said pipe inlets.

2. A'liquid distributor combination as specified in claim 1, in which the adjustable means engaging said post comprises a plurality of threaded connections between said post and surrounding pier and angularly displaced from one another about the post.

3. In a liquid distributor for filter beds and the like, the combination of a stationary supporting structure comprising a central pier having a hollow body portion formed of concrete and a concrete bottom portion beneath said body portion and rigidly connected thereto and having a liquid port in the lower portion of said concrete pier and a center post having its lower end extending into and anchored in said concrete bottom portion of the central pier and having an intermediate portion separated from the inner wall of the pier by a vertically elongated annular liquid space above said pier bottom portion and into the lower portion of which said port opens, a rotating structure, bearing means through which said rotating structure is rotatably mounted on the upper portion of said center post, said rotating structure comprising liquid distribution pipes with inlets adjacent said post, and with discharge outlets at different distances from said post and also comprising a central liquid chamber above the annular liquid space within said pier and with an opening at its lower end through which said post extends and through which liquid passes from said annular space into said chamber and thence into said pipe inlets, an uprising annular sealing member mounted on said pier and a cooperating annular sealing member supported by said rotating structure and dependin g'from a portion thereof surrounding the open lower end of said liquid chamben'and means for'passing liquid into the annular space in said pier at a pressure high enough to move the liquid into said pipe inlets.

4. A liquid distributor combination as specified in claim ,3, in which said bearing means is self aligning and comprises a first supporting member seated on the upper end of said post and formed with a curved upper surface, a second supporting member having'a lower curved surface abutting against and resting on said curved upper surface. one of said surfaces being convex and the other being concave, and thrust bearing means supported by said second supporting member through which the weight of said rotating structure is transmitted to said post. i

JOHN HERBERT KNOWLES.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 551,754 Bryant Dec. 24, 1895 569,656 McIntyre Oct. 20, 1896 843,971 Stevens Feb. 12, 1907 1,078,727 Geiger Nov. 18, 1913 1,392,476 Boedeker Oct. 4, 1921 1,450,309 Ross Apr. 3, 1923 1,516,429 Hartley et al. Nov. 18, 1924 1,882,546 Brossman Oct. 11, 1932 2,215,181 Knowles et a1. ,Sept. 17, 1940 2,255,157 Friend et al. Sept. 9, 1941 2,263,125 Friend et a1. Nov. 18, 1941 2,301,025 Friend et al. Nov. 3, 1942 2,374,977 Bunnell May 1, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,940 Great Britain May 10, 1906 279,536 Great Britain Nov. 2, 1927 

